Internet quality-of-service method and system

• US 6,021,439 A
• Filed: 11/14/1997
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Vetter, Brian Jay, Turek, John J. E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US08/970,411
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/218, 709/225, 709/226, 370/450, 713/202
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method of identifying quality-of-service problems associated with a given Web server in a computer network. The Web server includes a Web page having a token declaring that quality-of-service information is to be collected. When the Web page is received at a Web client having the capability to collect the information, an indication is provided to the Web client user that the information is being collected. The collected quality-of-service information is then uploaded, preferably without any information identifying the user, either to the Web server that served the page or to a management server.

Claims

1. A Web page formatted according to a markup language and supported on a content host, the content host connected in a computer network, comprising:

a base HTML document; and

a token restricting given information from being divulged to a third party without the content host'"'"'s consent, wherein the given information is data about a given quality-of-service metric associated with the content host collected as the Web page is pulled across the computer network.

2. A method of evaluating quality-of-service over a computer network, the computer network having a Web client running a browser and a plurality of servers that support Web pages, comprising the steps of:

downloading a Web page from a given server to the Web client, the Web page including a token declaring to the browser that quality-of-service information is to be collected;

responsive to receipt of the Web page including the token, collecting quality-of-service information at the Web client; and

uploading the collected quality-of-service information from the Web client to a given location for subsequent use.

3. The method as described in claim 2 wherein the step of collecting quality-of-service information at the Web client includes logging one or more exception events.

4. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the exception events include a broken link.

5. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the exception events include a measured Internet response time greater than a predetermined threshold.

6. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the exception events include a measured applet download time greater than a predetermined threshold.

7. The method as described in claim 2 further including the step of displaying an indication to a user of the Web client that the Web page includes the token and that the quality-of-service information is being collected with respect to the Web page.

8. The method as described in claim 7 wherein the quality-of-service information is uploaded to the given location without information identifying the user.

9. The method as described in claim 2 wherein the given location is the given server from which the Web page was downloaded.

10. The method as described in claim 2 wherein the given location is a management server at which quality-of-service information is compiled.

11. The method as described in claim 10 further including the step of having the management server notify the given server of an exception event.

12. The method as described in claim 2 wherein the computer network is the Internet.

13. A method of managing quality-of-service provided by a given server in a computer network having a client running a browser, comprising the steps of:

downloading an object from the given server to the client, the object including a token declaring to the browser that quality-of-service information is to be collected;

responsive to receipt of the Web page including the token, collecting quality-of-service information at the Web client;

uploading the collected quality-of-service information from the Web client to a management server; and

having the management server provide a notification about a given quality-of-service.

14. The method as described in claim 13 wherein the collected quality-of-service is uploaded to the management server without information identifying a user of the Web client.

15. The method as described in claim 13 further including the step of displaying on the browser an indication to a user of the Web client that the quality-of-service information is being collected with respect to the Web page.

16. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for use in a Web client having a browser for monitoring quality-of-service available from a given Web server in a computer network, comprising:

means, responsive to receipt at the Web client of a Web page from the given Web server, for determining whether quality-of-service information is to be collected; and

means, responsive to the determining means, for collecting the quality-of-service information; and

means, responsive to the collecting means, for uploading the collected quality-of-service information to a given location in the computer network.

17. The computer program product as described in claim 16 wherein the determining means includes means for identifying a token associated with the Web page, wherein the token declares to the browser that the quality-of-service information is to be collected.

18. The computer program product as described in claim 17 further including means for displaying an indication to the user that the Web page has the token.

19. The computer program product as described in claim 16 wherein the collecting means includes means for masking from the collected quality-of-service information given data identifying a user of the Web client.

20. A computer for use as a client in a computer network having a Web server that supports Web pages, at least one Web page including a token associated with a quality-of-service monitoring program, comprising:

a processor having an operating system associated therewith;

a Web browser; and

means associated with the Web browser for monitoring quality-of-service from the Web server, comprising;

means, responsive to receipt by the browser of the Web page including the token, for collecting the quality-of-service information; and

means, responsive to the collecting means, for uploading the collected quality-of-service information to a given location in the computer network.

21. The computer as described in claim 20 wherein the quality-of-service monitoring means further includes means for displaying an indication to the user that the Web page has the token.

22. The computer as described in claim 20 wherein the collecting means includes means for masking from the collected quality-of-service information given data identifying a user of the Web client.

23. The computer as described in claim 20 wherein the quality-of-service monitoring means is a browser plug-in.

24. The computer as described in claim 20 wherein the quality-of-service monitoring means is an applet running on the browser.

25. The computer as described in claim 20 wherein the quality-of-service information includes a set of one or more exception events.

26. A server running in a computer network having a plurality of instrumented Web servers that desire to monitor their quality-of-service, at least one instrumented Web server including a Web page having a token declaring an intention to collect quality-of-service information, the server comprising:

means, responsive to receipt of quality-of-service information about the Web page uploaded from one or more Web clients, for storing the quality-of-service information;

means for evaluating the quality-of-service information to determine whether a given quality-of-service problem has been experienced with respect to the Web page; and

means, responsive to the evaluating means, for providing a notification of a given quality-of-service.

27. A Web server supporting a Web page, the Web page having associated therewith a token declaring an intention to collect quality-of-service information, comprising:

means, responsive to receipt of quality-of-service information about the Web page uploaded from one or more Web clients, for storing the quality-of-service information;

means for evaluating the quality-of-service information to determine whether a given quality-of-service problem has been experienced with respect to the Web page; and

means, responsive to the evaluating means, for taking a predetermined action to rectify the given quality-of-service problem.

28. A quality-of-service monitoring system for use in a computer network, comprising:

a first instrumented Web server supporting a quality-of-service (Q-o-S) enabled Web page; and

at least one instrumented Web client having a Web browser and including means responsive to receipt of the Q-o-S enabled Web page for collecting quality-of-service information, and for uploading the collected quality-of-service information back onto the computer network.

29. The quality-of-service monitoring system as described in claim 28 wherein the means responsive to receipt of the Q-o-S enabled Web page further includes means for notifying a user of the Web client that the quality-of-service information is being collected.

30. The quality-of-service monitoring system as described in claim 28 wherein the uploading means uploads the collected quality-of-service information back to the first instrumented Web server without revealing information identifying the user.

31. The quality-of-service monitoring system as described in claim 28 further including:

a second instrumented Web server supporting a quality-of-service (Q-o-S) enabled Web page; and

at least one server for receiving collected quality-of-service information uploaded from one or more instrumented Web clients and including means for providing a notification to one of the first and second instrumented Web servers.